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Google’s Modular Phone Gets 3D Printed

In May 2012, Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, marking a transition for Google from search engine to consumer electronics manufacturer. After a period of turnaround and renewal, the Motorola Mobility unit of Google has launched smartphones like the Moto X and Moto G.

Now Motorola Mobility, a Google company, has unveiled plans for its most ambitious project: a 3D printed modular smartphone.

The company announced Project Ara in late October as a “free, open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones.” In a blog post, Motorola Mobility’s Paul Eremenko wrote, “We want to do for hardware what the Android platform has done for software: create a vibrant third-party developer ecosystem, lower the barriers to entry, increase the pace of innovation, and substantially compress development timelines.”

And in the most recent update to Project Ara, 3D Systems has been selected as the 3D printing partner for the new phone.

3D Systems Wins the Google Contract

3D Systems announced that it has entered into a multi-year development agreement with Motorola Mobility LLC, A Google Company, to create a continuous high-speed 3D printing production platform and fulfilment system in support of Motorola’s Project Ara.

“With Project Ara, we asked the question, ‘How do we bring the benefits of customization and an open hardware ecosystem to 6 billion people?’ That is our driving application. It requires technical advances in areas such as material strength and printing with conductive inks for antennas. And those advances must support production-level speeds and volumes, which is a natural partnership with 3D Systems,” said Regina Dugan, Senior Vice President and head of Motorola’s Advanced Technology & Projects group.

“Project Ara was conceived to build a platform that empowers consumers all over the world with customization for a product made by and for the individual,” said Avi Reichental, President and CEO of 3D Systems. “3D printing promotes a level of sustainability, functionality, and mass personalization that turns these kinds of global ambitions into attainable local realities. Project Ara combines two exponential technologies, and we expect that the resulting high-throughput advanced manufacturing platform will have far reaching implications on the entire digital thread that stitches together the factory of the future.”

As part of this agreement, 3D Systems plans to substantially expand its multi-material printing capabilities including conductive and functional materials. The company also plans to combine additive and subtractive manufacturing methods, and deliver an integrated high-speed production platform. Pending successful completion of the development phase, 3D Systems is expected to manufacture 3D-printed Ara smartphone enclosures and modules as Motorola’s exclusive fulfillment partner.

Motorola and 3D Systems, the inventors of the cell phone and 3D printer, respectively, have previously partnered on the MAKEwithMOTO tour, a series of make-a-thons at the nation’s top engineering and design schools aimed at exploiting the power of open, hackable smartphone hardware and 3D printing to begin seeding an open hardware ecosystem.

3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) announced today the availability of the Sense 3D scanner, the first 3D scanner designed for the consumer and optimized for 3D printing.

“The Sense is the only 3D scanner to deliver precise instant physical photography, so everyone can capture his or her scanable moments,” said 3D Systems in an announcement.

Sense has flexible scan size and can capture everything from a picture-perfect cupcake to a full-body selfie, processing data in seconds for an instantly 3D printable file. Sense comes with an intuitive user interface with easy and automated zoom, track, focus, crop, enhance and share tools. Sense printables can be sent to the Cube and CubeX 3D printers, or directly uploaded to Cubify.com for cloud printing in a range of materials, including Ceramix, Aluminix and Clear.

3D Systems has priced this new device at $399 and it is available for sale on Cubify.com. The Sense will also be sold on Staples.com and in hundreds of Staples retail stores nationwide starting November 18, 2013.

“The Sense is the first ever 3D content camera for everyone, making it possible to capture people, objects and places on the go,” said Rajeev Kulkarni, Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Products, 3D Systems. “I anticipate that the Sense’s intuitive nature, portability, range, unmatched quality and powerful user interface and user experience will spur a new social movement around 3D sharable and printable physical photography.”

How Does the MakerBot Digitzer Compare?

The MakerBot Digitizer, launched earlier this year, is a desktop 3D scanner that sells for $1400.

In comparison, the Sense from 3D Systems is a hand-held 3D scanner that is 1/3 of the price.

A Deeper Dive with the Sense

Mobility: The Sense is a hand-held mobile scanner which allows you to scan spontaneously, everywhere you go.

Range: The Sense can scan small and large objects, people and scenes. From something as small as a book to large as a motorcycle. The 3D scanner also has automatic object recognition to detect targets out of a busy background.

Easy to learn: Sense software is intuitive, fast, accurate and easy to use. Scans process in seconds and can be cropped, enhanced and solidified for printables in just minutes. No design experience is necessary.

New software: Scans can be merged in Cubify Sculpt, consumer software for editing STLs, mash-ups and organic modeling. Full integration between the Sense and Cubify Sculpt gives you the creative freedom to import your scans and combine them with other favorite designs.

Sense is powered by 3D Systems’ proprietary Geomagic software, making the Sense unmatched in quality, scan speed and easy editing capabilities for consumers. Sense is the only consumer scanner in its class that delivers professional performance at an affordable consumer price and guarantees an awesome user experience.

The company has also expanded into the hot desktop 3D printing category.

3D Systems expects to generate around $500 million of revenue this year, with the majority of sales in the industrial sector. But it has also expanded aggressively into the consumer business with the Cube and CubeX 3D printers, and expects prices of desktop 3D printers to come down from $1300 to below $500 over time.

A Defensive Move?

Perhaps IBM is concerned about the entry of other computing giants. HP CEO Meg Whitman said recently, “We want to lead this [3D printing] business. HP Labs is looking at it.” With over $13 billion in cash, would HP’s first move be an acquisition?

3D printer company voxeljet sets terms for $91 million IPO

Germany-based voxeljet is a leading provider of 3D printers and on-demand parts services. Earlier this week, the company announced terms for its planned IPO, where it plans to list under the symbol VJET on the NYSE.

voxeljet is raising $91 million through an offering of 6.5 million shares priced at $13 to $15 per share. This would give voxeljet a market cap of over $300 million.

A deeper look at voxeljet (NYSE:VJET)

For a deeper look at voxeljet, we combined our own research with data from an in-depth analysis by 3DPrintingStocks.com contributor Gary Anderson.

voxeljet AG was founded in 1999 and its headquarters is located in Friedberg, Germany, about 60 kilometers outside of Munich.

The company sold its first 3D printer in 2002 and has installed 52 printers worldwide as of June 30, 2013. 53% of sales to date have been outside of Germany and major customers include Ford, 3M, Daimler AG, BMW, and Hyundai. 3D Systems has also been a distributor of voxeljet printers since 2011.

“voxeljet printer systems and services are aimed squarely at commercial applications in the automotive, architecture, aerospace, medical/orthopedic, engineering, and defense industries,” wrote 3DPrintingStocks.com. The vast majority of 3D printing industry sales comes from these industrial sectors, and therefore voxeljet competes with companies such as 3D Systems and Stratasys, who have multi-billion dollar market capitalizations.

voxeljet operates two primary business divisions:

voxeljet SYSTEMS business division focuses on the development, production and distribution of the market´s fastest and most powerful 3D printing systems. Today, voxeljet has a well-coordinated product range that reaches from smaller entry models to large-format machines, and therefore offers the perfect 3D print system for many application areas.

voxeljet SERVICES custom parts service centre creates sand moulds and plastic models based on CAD data on demand. Small-batch and prototype manufacturers appreciate the automatic, patternless manufacture of their casting moulds and 3D models.The company’s customer base includes well-known automotive manufacturers and their suppliers, foundries as well as innovative companies from the arts design as well as the movie and entertainment industry.

voxeljet booked $11 million in sales for the 12 months ended June 30, 2013. This is quite small compared to Stratasys ($359mm) and 3D Systems ($354mm), but within the ballpark of ExOne ($29mm) and Arcam AB ($22mm).

The company’s production facilities now stand at 16,000 square feet and are undergoing expansion to over 40,000 square feet. Proceeds from the IPO are for the establishment of new service centers in North America and Asia, research and development, sales and marketing initiatives, and “general corporate purposes including potential acquisitions”.

The video below showcases the VXC800, the world’s first continuous 3D printer.

“From the get go, I imagined that 3D printing would significantly change design and manufacturing as we know it, but I could not have anticipated the profound impact the technology would have on everything in our lives. It is both humbling and exhilarating to be apart of this incredible transformation.” — Chuck Hull

Chuck Hull, the inventor of 3D printing and founder of 3D Systems, was honored with the George R. Stibitz Computer and Communications Award by Montana State University on October 3, 2013, in Bozeman, MT.

Hull invented the original 3D printing technology, Stereolithography (SLA), and led the development of the .stl file format, which continues to be the gold standard in ultra high-definition 3D printing and CAD connectivity to this day. Hull set to develop additive layer manufacturing to help an ailing automotive industry regain competitive advantage. After years of failed attempts Hull’s perseverance and inventiveness paid off when he successfully printed a teacup on March 9, 1983, and went on to file a patent for what he called Stereolithography and found 3D Systems in 1986.

Hull continues to lead the 3D printing revolution as 3D Systems’ Chief Technology Officer, celebrating 30 years of continuous 3D printing innovation and presiding over 7 different 3D print technologies, over 100 materials and 1,200 patents.

The award program was established in 1997 by George Keremedjiev, founder and director of the American Computer and Robotics Museum in Bozeman, MT. Hull is being honored along side the late Walt Disney and John Holland, an expert in complex adaptive systems. MSU will also be honoring primatologist Frans de Waal and 3M executive Jean B. Sweeney with the Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Pioneer Award.

“Seemingly a week cannot pass by without the mention of 3D printing for advanced manufacturing in both the general and technical media,” Keremedjiev said. “It is, bar none, the ‘hottest’ technology for modern and future manufacturing in the world. In fact, much of President Obama’s and the Congress’ manufacturing initiatives center themselves around the proliferation of Mr. Hull’s invention (3D printing).”

“I am deeply honored to receive the distinguished Stibitz Award alongside innovators who have changed the world and improved the human condition in unimagined and powerful ways,” said Chuck Hull, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, 3D Systems. “From the get go, I imagined that 3D printing would significantly change design and manufacturing as we know it, but I could not have anticipated the profound impact the technology would have on everything in our lives. It is both humbling and exhilarating to be apart of this incredible transformation.”